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PIRIT-POSSESSION. 



A TREATISE UPON MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 



COMPUISINU 



ifbe Experiences and Theories of a "Retired" Spirit- 
Medium. 



BY HENRV M. HUGUNIN. 



Now the Spirit jsueakcth expressly, that in the latter times 
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits 
and doctrines of devils. — 1 Timothy iv., 1. 



SYCAMORE, ILL. 
BAKER & ARNOLD. 

1878. 



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SPIEIT-POSSESS 




A TREATISE UPON MODERN SPIEITUALISM. 



COMPRISINO 



The Ezperiences and Theories of a "Retired" Spirit- 
Medium. 




BY HENRY M. HUGUNIK. 



Now the Spirit speaketli expressly, that in tiie latter times 
«ome shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seduoiBg epiriU 
and doctrines of devils. — 1 Timothy iv., i. 




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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, 

By baker & ARNOLD, 

Jn the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



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INTRODUCTOEY. 



" Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him, or the 
aon of man, that thou visitest him? ^'— David. 

Man is a mystery. Of all created things, perhaps, he is 
the greatest mystery to himself. Viewed in the light of the 
fall of Adam and the atonement of Jesus Christ, he is the 
most astonishing being that the mind can imagine — a wonder 
to the angels. 

The Bible speaks of man as having a body, spirit and soul, 
(1 Thessalonians v., 23.) The body is the sensual part, the 
shell, which dies and is left to decay. It is fitted only for the 
life that now is, and man is responsible to God, who made him, 
for the right use of the body, as well as for the condition of 
the soul at the hour of death. But he is to be judged princi- 
pally for the deeds committed by the body, through its mem- 
bers. 

The spirit and the soul are properly the man, in or out of 
the body, investing it with life, intelligence and responsibility. 
At the resurrection of the dead, man will rise with a spiritual 
body, (1 Corinthians xv., 44,) something, perhaps like that of 
an angel's, without a trace of corruption in it. " It is sown in 
corruption ; it is raised in incorruption." The spirit and the 
soul will occupy it as they do the earthly body, with the differ 
ence that the raised body will not be fitted for such a life aa 
we now live on earth, any more than the body that we now 
have is fitted ior the heavenly life — "flesh and blood cannot 
inherit the kingdom of God." 



IV. INTRODUCTORY. 



The eyeSj ears and other organs of a living man are so man^ 
instruments, or implements, by which his soal and spirit help 
him to work his way through the world. When the spirit and 
soul leave the body of flesh, these outward organs are of no 
more use than if they had never existed. The man has gone 
into another world, (not so far from this, perhaps, as many per- 
sons imagine, but unseen and unheard — I was going to add, 
unfelt, but I think that hardly true — by our carnal organs), 
and his house or body, is left unto his surviving friends deso- 
late and worthless, except to memory. His labors are ended, 
his earthly account closed up, and his life henceforth is eternal^ 
either for joy or misery. 

The soul is that part of man, derived from God alone^ 
which more closely resembles the Creator than any other. It 
is that part of man which is the most susceptible to sin, which 
is the most easily injured, which is to suffer or rejoice through 
eternity, according to its condition when it leaves the body 
with the spirit. If it is saved and purified before death, the 
most vivid imagination can have but a faint idea of the peace 
joy and glory it is capable of enjoying in heaven, or of the, 
bitter misery that awaits it eternally in hell if it is not 
redeemed in this life, through the precious blood of Jesus 
Christ. 



SPIRIT- POSSESSION. 



I HATE been requested to write upon the nature and 
developments of modern Spiritualism. At the outset, I 
desire that no sect, society, or individual, except myself, 
be held responsible for any opinion or theory advanced 
therein. I desire, also, to state what I believe to be 
true, as gathered from my personal experience as a 
spirit-medium, the records of human history, the Word 
of God, and the revelations of the spirits themselves. 

First, 1 class modern Spiritualism with the supernat- 
ural phenomena of the ancients, known as sorcery and 
witchcraft, which notably flourished in Egypt and Ca- 
naan in the days of Moses, and in other ages and 
places. . It occupied a prominent position in history in 
the time of Moses, while he was laboring with Pharaoh 
for the release of the Israelites from their Egyptian 
bondage, as recorded in the early chapters of Exodus ; 
^nd in several portions of the Bible we find particular 
mention of similar demonstrations. Among the most 
remarkable ancient Spiritualists, Mr. Daniels mentions 
Jannes and Jambres, ( the Egyptian sorcerers who with- 
stood Moses) ; Balaam, the soothsayer ; the woman of 
Endor ; the pythonic damsel of Philippi ; Elymas, the 
sorcerer, and Simon Magus. This latter individual, a 
very prominent Spiritualist declared, was *' a prince 
among the workers of spiritual miracles." His history 
is written in Acts viii. 9-23. Some of the false proph- 
ets of the Bible, it is also claimed with considerable 



SPIRIT- POSSESSION . 



arrogance, were " often as really inspired as the Lord's, 
prophets, though by a widely different agency." The 
latter were inspired by the Holy <jrhost, and the former 
by evil spirits. In the history of Ahab, ( 2 Chronicles 
xviii.), is a case of the real inspiration of 400 prophets 
by a lying spirit, by which Ahab was deceived and des- 
troyed in judgment for his wickedness. On the other 
hand, Jehoshaphat was not so deluded. He inquired 
for " a prophet of the Lord " besides, that he might in-^ 
quire of him. 

The earlier modern Spiritualists considered Spiritu- 
alism a revival of ancient sorcery, which Webster's Dic- 
tionary defines as "magic witchcraft; or divination with 
the assistance of evil spirits." Ex-Governor Talmadge, 
of New York, declared: "Now all the magic, the mys- 
teries, the witchcraft, and necromancy of the ancient 
world, from the time of the Delphic oracle, are explained 
by these modern investigations." Judge Edmonds, 
Andrew Jackson Davis, Charles Partridge and other 
noted Spiritualists also expressed a similar belief 

A witch is defined as a "woman who practices di- 
vination by the aid of evil spirits ; one who is possessed 
with a divining spirit, or has one in her ; one who exerts 
supernatural power by the assistance of a familiar 
spirit;" in other words, she is a developing spirit-me- 
dium. Judge Edmonds wrote : "About two hundred 
years ago, under the administration of the wisest of the 
English judges, hundreds were tried and executed for 
the crime of witchcraft .... And Barrinoton, 
in his observations on the statutes of '20, Henry VI., 
says that 30,000 people were burned for witchcraft with- 
in 150 years." 

In our own country, the records of the Salem (Mass.) 



SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 



witchcraft point out to us the horrors and evil results of 
the ancient systems of necromancy and sorcery repro- 
duced and demonstrated, bringing distrust, confusioii 
and violent deaths into a peaceful communitv. And yet 
the earlier American Spiritualists claimed that Spiritu- 
alism is but a revival of the supernatural phenomena of 
ancient sorcery and witchcraft. 

For one, I indorse their claim in this respect. 

As regards the supernatural element in sorcery, witch- 
craft and Spiritualism, it is useless to deny its existence. 
No medical, religious, or philosophical reasoning can suc- 
cessfully controvert the supernatural character of spirit- 
manifestations. Medicine and religion will serve t© 
strengthen our physical and mental humanity, and brace 
it up to resist the influences of evil spirits, but the evil 
influences will continue to exist, although their power 
over the nervous systems of men is checked. Even m 
this age of the world, amid all the materialism and "phil- 
osophy" that encompass us, the supernatural does still 
hold its sway over the minds and bodies of men. 

Wliat is the supernatural ? It is that which produces 
a natural event, or efl'ect, during the apparent suspen- 
sion or reversion of natural laws, or which causes a sur- 
prising result by the introduction of ah unknown influ- 
ence The supernatural must either originate with one 
of the two great forces at work in the world — good and 
evil — and its eff'ects must partake of the nature of one or 
the other of these forces. For instance, the miracles 
performed by Jannes and Jambres in the Egyptian pal- 
ace were in opposition t6 those performed by Moses and 
Aaron. Thelatterwere influenced by the Spirit of God; 
the former were opposed to God, being in the inte?est of 
paganism and oppression. The miracles of Jesus and 



8 SPIRIT POSSESS [ON. 

■his disciples were all performed in the interest of benev- 
olence, and for good purposes ; those of the soothsayers 
and magicians (as in the case of Sceva's seven sons, in 
Acts xix., 13-16, and Simon, in Acts viii., 5-28,) were 
evidently actuated by a love of money or personal popu- 
larity. 

In the scriptures, the devil, or that evil force that is 
arrayed against God and all his goodness, i^ spoken of 
as "the prince of this world," or ''the prince of the pow- 
er of the air," showing us how very intimately his in- 
fluence is brought to bear upon things earthly, and par- 
ticularly upon things human. This influence began to 
be felt in the garden of Eden, where it wrought the fall of 
man, and that influence has always been felt, with tre- 
mendous force, in the propagation of temptations and 
ijrime ever since. 

If I am asked why God permits such a wicked spirit to 
influence men in this way, instead of destroying it at 
one blow, as he might, I shall reply that I do not know ; 
nor is it my business to search for the reason, or encour- 
age others to do so. It is sufficient for me to know that 
Ood can and^does destroy the evil spirit in any and all 
persons who repent of their natural wickedness, and 
iienceforth wholly devote themselves and all they have 
to his service, trusting in his Son Jesus Christ as their 
only salvation, and living up to all the spiritual light 
that they possess, as set forth in the Bible. Whoever 
does this, and seeks earnestly and sincerely for purity of 
life and heart, will find himself delivered from all further 
dominion of the devil, so long as he maintains his faith 
and obedience to God. 

The history of the world shows that the fascinations 
©f the supernatural, without regard to good or evil, have 



SPIRIT- POSSESSION. 



led men into the worship of many strange gods. - While 
most nations worship beings of superior excellence (real 
or fancied), whose love and favor they desire, the Chi- 
nese worship the devil, seeking to secure his good will, 
so that he will do them no harm. 

The great God of heaven hag best revealed himself to 
us through the Bible. Men may puzzle their brains 
with the dogmas of all the "philosophers," from the old 
and wise serpent in Adam's paradise, down to Tyndall 
and Huxley, and then know less of God than a poor, 
ignorant servant who reads her Bible and converses 
often with her Creator in the privacy of her closet. 

But when men cast away the Bible and its teachings, 
as things of little worth, the devil steps in with some 
device to excite their curiosity, mislead them into error, 
and confirm them in false, delusive and ruinous doctrines. 
This was the way in whicti he commenced with Eve, and 
he has been doing business in this manner ever since, 
with similar results. When certain men began to scout 
the truths of the Bible and cry out for other doctrines 
that would better suit them (by allowing them to indulge 
their carnal propensities without restraint), the devil 
introduced modern Spiritualism, in this century, just as 
he inveigled King Saul into a similar sorcery with the 
woman of Endor. It was the death of Saul, and Spirit- 
ualism has destroyed thousands of its followers, and sent 
them to perdition, by its delusive and unholy opposition 
to the only means which God has provided to secure 
everlasting peace and blessedness. 

Let us now examine the manner in which the devil 
and the evil spirits whom he controls, be they unearthly 
demons or the departed spirits of wicked men and wo- 
men, contrive to influence living people and turn them 



10 SPIRIT- POSSESSION. 

into pliable instruments, to deceive others by spirit me- 
diumship. 

There is a science called "biology," or "animal mag- 
netism" — sometimes incorrectly styled "psychology," — 
which, twenty-five years ago, was rather extensively 
practiced in private and public, in this country, creating 
much wonder and amusement by its remarkable mani- 
festations or phenomena. By it one person, possessing 
more "magnetism," or "will power," growing out of 
certain physical conditions, (which I think have never 
been satisfactorily explained), can, by particular manipu- 
lations, attain perfect control of the body, members and 
mind of another person, causing the latter individual to 
say and do things silently or verbally suggested by the 
"operator," in the most complete and involuntary man- 
ner. In this condition the "subject" loses his entire 
will, and has no power to resist that of the "operator,*' 
whose influence is felt not only near by, but, in some 
cases, when a considerable distance separates them. 
The body is not only in subjection to the "operator," but 
the imagination and the mental faculties are all controlled 
by him, sometimes to a degree that destroys the power 
of the 'subject" to identify himself In his infatuation, 
he sees, smells, tastes, hears and moves as the"operator" 
directs, however wisely or ridiculously. The same glass 
of water may be made to taste like coffee, beer, ardent 
spirits, etc., to the "subject," as his "operator" shall 
dictate. It is a dangerous science to trifle with, as it 
puts the "subject" so completely under the direction of 
another person and so destroys the "subject's" own voli- 
tion that he or she is in danger of being helplessly drawn 
into evil and hurtful practices. There is one advantage 
which most persons possess in pursuing this science of 



SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 11 

"animal magnetism" — their own consent to become the 
"subject," or victim, is required before the "charmer" 
can overcome thera. Resistance is safety. 

In a similar manner, it has been conceived, evil 
spirits, unseen, but pressing about the unregenerate, are 
permitted to magnetize the bodies and spirits of living 
persons who seek to communicate with them, and whose 
physical organizations are fitted to become spirit-medi- 
ums. Happily, all persons are not. Certain conditions 
of the nervous system, temperament and mental organi- 
zation are requisite for mediumship, as well as necessary 
in a "good subject" for the success of "animal magnet- 
ism." In the days of Jesus upon earth, it was said, that 
the evil spirits entered into the man, and it may be that 
the modern spirit-medium is similarly demonized. I am 
not prepared to state by which of the two processes 
named the spirits control the mediums, but incline to a. 
belief that both methods are possibly used, for the devil 
leaves no stone unturned to ruin the souls of men. 
But, as in "animal -magnetism," resistance to spirit in- 
fluence is a strong safeguard, especially if the divii^e 
help is prayerfully sought. This latter fact is a signifi- 
cant indication that modern Spiritualism, in its nature 
and tendencies, is not in harmony with the interests of 
God's kingdom. 

Recurring again to the Spiritualism mentioned in the 
Bible, I am inclined to believe that the demoniacal pos- 
session, in many instances recorded by the Evangelists 
as healed by our Lord Jesus Christ during his life on 
earth, partook largely of the nature of spirit-mediumship. 
Notably we have a case, a marked case, indeed, in the 
naked man among the tombs oi Gadara, (Mark v.), who 
was tormented by a legion of devils, or unclean spirits 



12 SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 

"—"daimon," or de^nons ; not Satan, or Diabolus, " the 
father of lies," but evil spirits less potent, yet, perhaps, 
quite as malevolent. 

" When I read of the number of demons in particular 
persons," says a distinguished commentator, "and see 
their actions expressly distinguished from those of the 
man possessed ; conversations held by the demons about 
their disposal after their expulsion, and accounts given 
how they were actually disposed of; when I find desires 
and passions ascribed peculiarly to them, and similitudes , 
taken from their manners and customs, it is impossible for 
me to deny their existence without admitting that the 
sacred historians were themselves deceived in regard to 
them, or intended to deceive their readers." 

Another scriptural writer says : "The universal opin- 
ion in the East is, that devils have the power to enter 
into and take possession of men in the same sense as we 
understand it to have been the case, as described by the 
sacred writers. I have often seen the poor objects who 
were believed to be under demoniacal influence, and cer- 
tainly, in some instances, I found it no easy matter to 
account for their conduct on natural principles ; I have 
seen them writhe and tear themselves in the most frantic 
manner." 

Now, whether the evil spirit enters into, or only mag- 
netizes the medium, or victim, the result appears to be 
the same — the "subject" loses his own will and is over- 
come by the power and will of his tormentor, physically 
and mentally. 

The will being overcome, the medium becomes a 
fanatic. Judge Edmonds, the great Spiritualist, in a 
public lecture, said : " We have to contend against our 
own fanaticism : for I assure you, from my own experi. 



SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 



ence and observation, that the fascination of this inter- 
course is so great that its tendency is to lead men away 
from their proper judgment, and instil a spirit of fanati- 
cism most revolting to the calm and natural mind." 

With regard to the phenomena of Spiritualism as man- 
ifested by strongly developed mediums, it must be admit- 
ted that as they are supernaturally affected and governed 
by other powers than those of living human beings, 
the wonderful performances of which Spiritualists boast 
in their seances are not all to be classed as " humbugs.** 
The opinion is sometimes expressed that " Spiritualists 
do not perform the wonders which they profess to do." 
Certainly not, always, for there are pretenders in all 
professions, as well as true performers. One of the most 
wonderful manifestations of modern spirit-mediums is to 
produce the appearance of " materialized spirits." In 
the tenth century, of the Greek Spiritualists, it was 
written : " Goetia, or witchcraft, is a certain art 
respecting material and terrestrial demons, whose images 
it causes to become visible to the spectators of this art 
And some of these demons it leads up, as it were, from 
Hades, but others it draws down from on high, andjthese 
too, such as are of an evil species. This art, therefore, 
causes certain phantastic images to appear before the 
spectators." 

Again says Dr. Gumming, of London : " Whatever 
God does in the world, Satan always gets up something 
very like it, because his hope of progress is by deception* 
We may quote the miracles of the magicians of Egypt. 
Satan got up hi? miracles too — perhaps real, at le<ast 
supernatural ones." 

When Aaron's rod was changed into a serpent before 
Pharaoh, by the power of God, the Egyptian magiciang 



14 SPIRITPOSSESSION. 

"cast down every man his rod, and they became ser- 
pents ;" as this was a contest between God and evil, and 
God was helping Aaron, it is a fair inference that wicked 
influences were helping these magicians ; "but Aaron's 
rod swallowed up their rods," and evil was defeated, as 
it always will be when it fights against God. Then 
Moses and Aaron turned all the waters of the river into 
blood ; " and the magicians of Egypt did so with their 
enchantments." And, afterwards, the magicians 
"brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt," as Aaron 
had also. But when Aaron brought upon the Egyptians 
the plague of lice, by the divine power, the magicians 
failed to repeat this miracle, and said to Pharaoh, ^^This 
is the finger of Grod.'' The evil spirits were unable to 
cope with such a wonder as that. (Exodus vii., viii.) 

It is written that "false Christs and false prophets 
shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it 
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect," (Math- 
ew xxiv., 24.) And the beast, (in Revelation xiii., 13), 
it is said, "doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire 
to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of 
men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth 
by the means of those miracles which he had 
power to do in the sight of the beast." Paul wrote also, 
in his second letter to the Thessalonians, (ii., 1, 10), 
that "the man of sin, the son of perdition" was to be 
revealed "after the working of Satan with all power and 
signs and lying wonders, and with all the deceivableness 
of unrighteousness in them that perish." The inspired 
Revelator, also, (xvi., 14,) speaks of "the spirits of dev- 
ils" (demons) working miracles which go forth unto the 
kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather 
them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." 



SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 15 

Finally, Paul wrote to Timtohy (first Epistle, iv., 1,) 
"that in the latter times some shall depart from the 
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of 
devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy." How many of the 
spirit-mediums are hypocrites, pretending to do those 
things which they do not, is uncertain ; but even Satan 
himself is a hypocrite, often passing himself off as " an 
angel of light," (2 Corinthians xi., 14.) 

That the evil spirits desire to communicate with every 
living human being whom they can influence and seduce, 
is pretty well understood, and the methods which they 
use are as novel as they are numerous, and often so 
absurd as to appear ridiculous to well-balanced minds. 
That some of these efforts so convince men of the reality 
of spirit-revelations do not disgust those whose curiosity 
concerning Spiritualism leads them within the influence 
of the charmed "circle," is simply because they are 
infatuated with the novelty and fascination of seeking to 
converse with departed friends. It is wonderfully fasci- 
nating, especially the hope of becoming fully developed 
as a spirit-medium, and without realizing the danger, 
hundreds plunge into the bewildering, forbidden and 
unholy pleasures of spirit-communication. 

The danger is in being so easily deceived. The won- 
derful uncertainty attending spirit-communication ren- 
ders it perplexing, even when the medium is honest. Let 
me illustrate by a simple example. Suppose that a 
seeker after communications from the dead sits down 
with the spirit-medium in a room by themselves, separ- 
ated by a thin partition from another room. What is 
done in that other room is unseen by the medium and 
hi» customer. The questions are asked by the medium 
v.erbally, and the spirit-answers made by a system of 



1 6 SPIRIT POSSESSION. 



raps, as in the early days of modern Spiritualism. The 
answers may, or may not, be satisfactory to the customer, 
but they are regularly rapped out upon the partition 
between the rooms ; still I defy the medium or his cus- 
tomer to determine with any degree of certainty whether 
the raps are made by disembodied spirits, (and by how 
many of them,) or by half a dozen mischievous and 
shrewd young men and women behind the partition. In 
either case there is nothing trustworthy in the mode or 
matter of the communications ; and this fact alone ought 
to prevent even weak-headed and sentimental persons 
from indulging in the delights of spirit-communication. 

Even with writing or speaking spirit-mediums, be they 
ever so "good" and genuine, the uncertainty is the same. 
The spirits are vacillating, and perhaps two or three may 
be influencing the medium — the man in the tombs at 
Gadara had a "legion" at one time working upon him 
— and in such a case the communications might be unsat- 
isfactory, or "badly mixed" — ^bewildering, not to say 
false. One spirit can write or rap so like another, that 
who writes the communication — friend or demon — an 
innocent seeker after spirit-truths will not be able to 
determine. 

Of the "dark seances" — the flying guitars, music in 
the air, bell-ringing, rope- tying, and other mysterious 
demonstrations, I know nothing by experience, but I 
believe that such things may be. The devil prefers dark- 
ness to light, and I have witnessed so many singular 
things — delusive and real — in spirit-manifestations that 
I believe many others are possible with the children and 
associates of Satan, either in the body or out of it. 

As to the prophesies made by and to spirit-mediums, 
no dependence can be placed upon them. As well might 



'iPIRiT- POSSESSION. 



one patronize the common fortune-tellers in the slums of 
our great cities, in the hope of obtaining a truthful rev- 
elation of the future. A horrifying instance of the- 
deceitful character of spirit-prophesies came under my 
personal observation. One of the rankest Spiritualists 
in America, with whom I was intimately acquainted, in 
the spring of 1865, said in my presence that the spirits' 
had promised him twenty-two years more of life in the 
flesh, adding that he was sorry for it, he was in. suck 
haste to join his friends in the spirit world. In Decem«> 
ber, 1866, he perished in a burning building in Wauke- 
gan, Illinois, being almost entirely consumed by the 
flames into which he fell. 

I have spoken of the wonderful fascination that fast- 
ens upon the receiver of spirit-communictions. It soon 
absorbs all the time, faculties, hopes, fears, and desires' 
of its devotee, and herein lies one of the greatest dan- 
gers of Spiritualism. Infatuated by communion with' 
the unseen inhabitants of the hidden world, the medium" 
loses his or her interest in the things pertaining to every- 
day life on earth. A soft and pleasing atmosphere: 
appears to surround them. The realities of flesh and' 
blood are lost in ideal dreaming, and there is no incen- 
tive to break away from a state of existence so agreeable^ 
no matter how monstrous are the delusions practiced by 
the spirits. This is one reason why so few persons who 
have once yielded to the charms of sipritual intercourse 
can ever be reached and drawn away from it by the invi- 
tations or warnings of the Bible. 

Their consciences are as callous as if seared with a hot 
iron ; sin has to them lost its wickedness, and they are^ 
willing dupes to unseen beings who delight to control 
rheir every faculty. Very seldom has a full-fledged 



18 SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 

Spiritualist ever been able to comprehend the necessity 
and blessedness of the religion of Jesus Christ, and 
urithdraw from the morbid condition into which he has 
fallen. Some there are, however, whose prayers to be 
delivered from the fearful state into which they have 
wandered have been graciously heard by the great God 
of the universe, and they have been restored to liberty 
of will and body. My own is a case in point. 

As intimated on a previous page, it was my pleasure 
and priviles^e, several years ago, to investigate the phe- 
nomena of modern Spiritualism under all the advantages 
of a remarkably high condition of mediumship. 1 pro- 
pose, before entering upon a history of that investiga- 
tion, to make a brief statement of my spiritual condi- 
. tion previous to my experiences in the supernatural. 

In 1850 or 1851 — a few years after the "Rochester 
knockings" had startled the world and laid the founda- 
tion of modern Spiritualism — a noted Spiritualist in Illi- 
nois one day told me that "if I only dared," I might 
become a spirit-medium. It seems that there are out- 
ward marks by which good material for the spirits to 
work upon can be readily recognized by the initiated. 
Eor months, at intervals, he presented the phenomena 
of Spiritualism to me as the evidence of something that 
lie considered a great advantage — the communications 
^f the dead to the living. At that period I did not 
■''dare" to become a spirit-medium, as he suggested. I 
was afraid of it as something strange and unnatural, and 
it seemed, too, to run contrary to the Bible, for the 
Spiritualists did not appear to be pure men, and they had 
little real regard for the doctrines of the Scriptures. At 
that time my ideas of religion were very crude and unset- 
iled. The early religious training of years in Sunday 



SPIRIT- POSSESSION. 19 

schools and churches, and a kind mother's admonitions, 
had well -nigh heen smothered by a foolish and irreligious 
life, hut there did remain in my heart a respect for the 
Bible and the lessons of infancy, and I think now that 
the Holy Ghost strove to restrain me, even in my 
unsaved condition, from casting myself into the untried 
and mysterious whirlpool of Spiritualism. At least I 
did not become very enthusiastic for or against it, 
although frequently hearing much of its real or pre- 
tended wonders, and I came to regard it almost with 
indifference. Several of my family were led to believe 
in it more or less, but I still held myself aloof. The 
personal experiences of Mr. Parsons, a pious minister of 
the gospel, who had secretly become a voluntary medium 
in order to investigate the virtues of Spiritualism, pub- 
licly related in a lecture, also served to prejudice me in 
a degree against it. He openly pronounced it the work 
of the devil, and that fact served to strengthen me in 
opposition to its fascinations. 

Sixteen years of irreligious life passed away, yet I 
was still restrained in a few things by my early lessons. 
In all those years I was nearly as indifferent to the 
blandishments of Spiritualism as I was to vital religion. 
I had several reasons for believing it a snare and delu- 
sion, and, if I remember rightly, what I read and heard 
about it only served to convince me of its unsatisfactory 
and uncertain character. Through surrounding circum- 
stances, I had drifted, too, towards Universalism ; but 
I came to consider Spiritualism of very little account, 
if not ridiculous, whatever reality its phenomena pos- 
sessed. 

Four years I was an invalid, with my nervous system 
unstrung and my body poisoned with strong medicines, 



20 SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 

which had not proved to be remedies. I was on the 
verge of paralysis, when, through the providence of 
God, I found a doctor who soon started me on the high 
road to health. I mention these facts because it was 
during my recovery, and when my nerves had nearly 
recovered their normal strength, that Spiritualism was 
presented to me in a way that led me to regard it with 
a new interest. 

I approach this portion of my subject with a feeling 
of humility, because of the weakness that led me to 
tamper with things that I had reason to believe were 
unclean, and partly because I hardly expect to be able 
to explain to the satisfaction of the reader some of the 
phenomena which I personally witnessed and in which I 
participated. But the confession of this weakness and 
the trouble into which it led me may restrain others who 
are tempted to meddle with Spiritualism from yielding 
to its fascinating and soul-destroying delusions. 

In the spring of 1869, an elderly lady whom I had 
long known and respected, whose integrity I could not 
doubt, (intelligent, refined, and a member of an ortho- 
dox church), confided to me the secret that she had a 
t^ble in her house which would answer questions and 
follow her about the room. Of such things I had heard 
before, but never witnessed, having had neither sufficient 
curiosity nor confidence to visit more than one spiritual 
"circle"— and that had proved a failure. The lady fur- 
ther said that however skeptical she might be concerning 
Spiritualism, she could not doubt the evidence of her 
own senses. She also invited me to witness the same 
phenomena at her home. I did so. The table, when 
our hands were laid upon it, would answer "yes" to a 
question from either of us, by tipping over into our laps, 



SPIRIT- POSSESSION. 21 

and when the answer was "no," the table simplj ^^n^- 
gled on its legs. It was rather amusing to witness this 
intelligence, and if the answers were not always satis- 
factory, the table — a small but not a very light one — was 
a great deal more prompt to answer and more willing to 
communicate with us than many Sunday-school schol- 
ars are when catechised about their lessons. When the 
lady rose from the sofa on which we sat, the table fol- 
lowed her a short distance, but not to the extent to which 
she said it had on other occasions. 

This event so excited my curiosity, and secured my 
interest in Spiritualism, that I lost the dread of becom- 
ing a medium, and began to look upon spirit-communica- 
tion with much favor. Still I did not mingle with Spirit- 
ualists, or visit their "circles," but in a private manner 
sought to obtain intelligence from the spirit- world. 1 did 
think I would explain to the reader the method by which 
I became a writing medium, but I will not, lest the curi- 
osity of some heedless person might lead him or her to 
use the same means, and intentionally, or inadvertently, 
develop into a spirit-medium, and reap sorrow and des- 
truction. 

The development in my case was rapid and remark- 
able, and soon became perfect. The communications 
(of which I shall have more to say hereafter) became 
continuous, as if some one was writing long and frequent 
letters to me, I felt proud of this new accomplishment, 
and rashly informed my friends. At once their curiosity 
and opposition were aroused — the latter sufficiently to 
awaken in me a spirit of independence and encourage 
me to continue to receive spirit-communications. I may 
say here that I had clear evidence that tlie communica- 
tions which I received were not dictated by my own 



22 SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 



mind, and seemed to be independent of m j own thoughts, 
as if some other person was passing his ideas through my 
mind and nerves to the hand with which I wrote. 

I had by this time become intensely magnetized by 
the spirits. I use this term because my condition thea 
was very similar to that which I had previously expe- 
rienced when under the influence of animal magnetism. 
(See page 12.) This was spiritual magnetism. I had 
reached a point where I seemed to live in two worlds at 
once — the terrestrial and the spiritual. I had enough 
of the earthly, with my natural senses, to transact reg- 
ular business every day, but my mind and nervous sys- 
tem were greatly etherealized (if I may so express it), 
and the tendency was to communicate with the spirits 
whenever relaxation from business permitted. When 
under the influence of animal magnetism, I had been 
enabled to see visions of real objects, and this power was 
again given to me. The spirits were very sociable with 
me, and conversed freely and naturally about ordinary 
earthly topics, frequently introducing new names and. 
theories of which I had seldom or never heard. The 
fascination of this intercourse was very great, and the 
spirits appeared anxious to extend it to my heart's 
desire. They were iveaving the net for my soul. 

My condition (for I made no great secret of it) 
attracted the attention of several friends in the flesh, 
and I was faithfully warned to desist from spirit commu- 
nication. Even the lady who owned the tipping-table 
solemnly counseled me to relinquish Spiritualism as- 
something dangerous ; but I was infatuated, and grew 
angry under these repeated cautions. The idea upper- 
most in my mind was this ; Connecting the possibility 
of spirit-communication with that of religion, I deter-^ 



SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 23. 

* ' '■ ■ » 

mined (having now the power) to discover whatever of 
GOOD Spiritualism possessed. In this respect I became 
its champion ; and no sooner did I reach this determin- 
ation than the spirit of evil and his emissaries took a 
deeper and fuller control of my human faculties, bodily 
and mental. 1 had given myself away to the spirits. 
To overcome me to a greater degree was in their power,, 
and they did so. I became more etheralized, or spirit- 
ualized, and unfit longer to do worldly business. I ne 
longer needed the pencil to receive their communications. 
From that time they spoke with me face to face, unseen 
and unheard by all around except myself My natural 
senses remained, and on ordinary topics I conversed 
with friends in the flesh quite rationally, but there was 
such a, preponderance of spirit-control that ordinary 
topics were secondary. I was doing business in the 
spirit-world more than in this, and my thoughts — yeay 
my very life, was absorbed in the mysteries and delusions- 
that thronged about me. 

For about three months I was in the power of the 
spirits, having a dual existence, and greatly tormented 
by their contradictory and unsatisfactory operations ; 
but as I had sought their companionship for no evil pur- 
pose, and had grace enough given me from on high t© 
call upon the Lord Jesus Christ to pity me in my miser- 
able and helpless condition, Ifelt that the spirits were 
often restrained from doing me extreme injury by a power 
that was mightier than themselves. Still they tor- 
mented me to a very severe extent. I desired to be 
freed from them. I lost much of my confidence in them, 
and their blasphemy and uncleanness shocked me. Bat 
they were my constant companions. / could not get rid 
of them. They tempted me to suicide and murder, and 
to other sins. I was fearfully beset and bewildered and 



24 SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 



deluded. There was no human help fo7' me. But 
almost from the very first I had been inspired (as it were 
hj G-od himself) to make friends with the Lord Jesas 
Christ — the result, I think, of my early religious teach- 
ings in the Sunday-school — who had delivered so many 
from the evil spirits that overcame them, during his 
jearthly life. Amid the phenomena, delusions and filth 
of Spiritualism, I prayed almost constantly for help to 
*^the One mighty to save." The reader will remember 
^e object with which I plunged into spirit-medium ship 
- — to ascertain what good it possessed. 1 found out. It 
is the same goodness that exists in the "outer darkness" 
of the Bible, I am not going to enlarge npon the wick- 
edness that was poured upon me like vials of wrath by 
the spirits because I would not yield and be as wicked 
as themselves. I praise God to day, and I expect to 
through time and eternity, for the divine care and watch- 
fulness that he accorded to me. Giving me faith to 
trust in his mighty power to deliver, bidding me hope, 
yet withholding deliverance until he was pleased to send 
it in all its fullness, in his own good time, he still 
restrained the spirits from doing me any important 
injury. It is true they led me into some extravagances 
of action, and to believe, in a measure, a few of their 
-delusions, often combining religion and deviltry in a most 
■surprising manner; but, after all, heyond a certain extent, 
they could not influence me. A higher power controlled 
them. One day, after they had been peculiarly annoy- 
ing, they threatened to kill me, and, tired of their tor- 
ments, I told them to do it. At once there wa^ a tempo- 
rary peace, as if they had been suddenly driven back. 
Often they reviled me, once telling me that my prayers 
•had not been heard in heaven for six weeks. On one 



SPIRIT POSSESSION. 25 



©ccasion, I intimated a resolution to send for a godly 
minister to come and pray with me, and they threatened 
if I did, to tear the house down before morning. I sent 
for him ; he came, and durino; the night they seemed to 
be more restrained than usual in their demonstrations. 

I was now really at war with the spirits — not trusting 
in anything or anybody to deliver me from them except 
the Lord, yet opposincr them and their efforts to overcome 
me. If I yielded to them in the least, even for a mo- 
ment, they would take advantage of it in some way to de- 
ceive me; if I opposed them, they tormented me, their 
power sometimes extending to my body as well as to the 
mind. But still I prayed in faith, believing that deliv- 
erance would come. 

Almost every sin that I had ever committed of any 

importance the spirits paraded before me, so that I could 
read it as out of a book. They instituted courts to try 
me (or pretended to), in which God the Father was sup- 
posed to be the Judge ; but the trials were nonsense and 
awfully blasphemous. One good effect arose from this. I 
began to hate wickedness in myself and everywhere — I 
was disgusted with it, and sick of it ; and then I contin- 
ued praying earnestly to be delivered from the spirits 

and all sin. Oh, how I hated it in all its forms ! 

I believe that at one time Satan himself, hearing my 

prayers, and finding me so bitterly opposed to his ser- 
vants and wickedness, and being in danger of losing so 
faithful a servant of his as I had been in the past, came 
to the aid of the spirits to overcome me if possible. 
There was more of malignity, horrifying blasphemy and 
awful delusion manifested against me than before ; but I 
praise God for the grace that led me to have a deeper 
faith and hope in Christ in that trying hour ; and I have 
reason to believe that then God and the devil fought for 



26 SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 



the possession of my soul, and that He who never 
lost a battle drove away my mortal enemy. I felt that 
I was in awful peril, yet no new harm came to me. The 
very language of the Bible was apparently changed by 
the evil one, as if to destroy my confidence in it and in 
God himself. But with the dreadful temptation I 
received new grace, even under the bewilderment that 
beset me, and clung to Jesus through it all. 

After a season of these varied and wonderful experi- 
ences, I began to receive intimations from God and from 
the spirits (as I think now after the lapse of years) that 
my deliverance was near at hand, I had been among 
the spirits for about three moivths, and tried in body and 
mind to a certain degree by their^ constant warfare upon 
me, but not permanently injured in either, and enjoying 
very good physical health. I had exercised by taking 
long and frequent walks, and been nourished by health- 
ful food ; I had thoroughly repented of every sin and 
become a believer and follower of Jesus, who had been 
my Friend through all, and 1 felt that I was really soon 
to be delivered from the labyrinth of wickedness and 
mystery in which I had existed for so many weeks. 
One morning I was asked by an unseen ar\d mysterious 
associate (I know not whom) to give my promise never 
more to have anything to do with Spiritualism. It may 
have been a messenger from the Lord, or from my spirit- 
ual enemy — I know not ; but a positiv^e answer seemed 
to be required. That promise I solemnly gave, and have 
solemnly kept for seven years, and by the grace of God 
I shall keep it until I am called into the world of spirits. 
I think it was either on that day or the next that my 
communication with the spirits ceased, and I v/as at lib- 
erty, filled with praise and joy at God's deliverance of 



SPIRIT POSSESSION. 2T 

my soul from the peril through which I had so marvel- 
ously passed. From that hour I have been a Christian., 

I promised to relate in this connection what I found 
in Spiritualism. In doing so I shall rather confine my- 
self to general results than to particular phenomena. I 
have already referred to the delusory character of these 
phenomena, and the little confidence that can be placed^ 
in what the spirits declare and perform. For instance, 
not seeing the beings who guided my hand when com- 
munications were written, it was impossible to identify 
the controlling spirit, although I confess that I some- 
times had an intuitive impression that it was a certain 
individual whom I had known in this lif6 ; yet here there 
was great room for delusion, and I may always have been 
mistaken. When I conversed with them face to face, in. 
a higher condition of mediumship — my spiritual hear- 
ing being opened — it was the same, for I found they could 
imitate the voice of one man who is still in the flesh, 
and with whom I was formerly very intimate. I knew 
that this person was not dead, and that he was not speak- 
ing to me, but the imitation was very perfect. I came 
in contact, also, with several who professed to be per- 
sons whom I had known before they died, and whom. 
I knew were dead. (These were, as I have reason to be- 
lieve, people who had died in their sins.) But to this 
day, I am not prepared to declare positively that they 
were the persons whom they represented. They may have 
been, but where so much of delusion existed, it was some- 
what difficult to decide between the false and the real.. 
And this seems to me to be the great objection to accept- 
ing Spiritualism as a temporal or -spiritual adviser, as 
thousands are doing, only to find themselves deceived. 

One day I received a communication purporting to be 



28 SPIRIT- POSSESSION. 



written bj a very dear departed friend from the Bible 
place of torment, flattering me, and warning others in 
the flesh to change their course lest they should go there 
too when they died. As I had good reasons for believ- 
ing that this dear friend was in glory, saved through the 
atoning blood of Jesus Christ, and as I was still in my 
sins, I have set down the communication in question as 
a fraud — a forgery. I also received several communi- 
cations of a religious character. At first they seemed 
sincere and consistent. But one day, after writing very 
piously, the controlling spirit finished up the communi- 
cation with the vilest and silliest language imaginable. 
There are hypocrites in the spirit world, whether they be 

dead men or devils. 

The reader may remember thai I was looking for the 

good of Spiritualism, sustained and restrained, as I 
have reason to believe, by the power of God himself, 
and so prevented from yielding too much to the baleful 
influences that surrounded me. Sinner as I was, I was 
yet a believer in the truth of the Bible as coming from 
God, (through my youthful instruction), and this fact 
brought me into controversy with the spirits at once. 
One day, it seemed to me, they sent a committee to 
examine me on Christian doctrine, and new, sometimes, 
I am impressed with the resemblance of these spirits to 
the opposers of Jesus and his apostles while on earth, 
or the famous French infidels. In my ignorance of 
scripture lore and vital religion, I could not argue suc- 
cessfully against their dogmas, and yet I was not con- 
vinced that I was wrong in believing the Bible, (it was 
such a comfort to me even thenV or that they were right 
in opposing it. 

1 do not propose to detail all that I found in Spirit- 
ualism. Nothing could induce me to repeat much of 



SPIRIT POSSESSION. 29 

the language they used, or tiie delusions which they pre- 
pared to deceive me. Of the untruthfulness of those 
that I encountered there could be no doubt. I found 
them not only wicked, but possessing a supernatural 
shrewdness that might easily mislead a human mind that 
was unguarded as to consquences, if once brought within 
their influence. Who is so subtle and deluding as Satan, 
''the father of lies?" Has he not many faithful ser- 
vants in the flesh, and if they die in his service, will 
they be any better in the spirit-world ? And if the 
spirits are like those demons who destroyed the swine at 
Gadara, fearing they should be tormented before the time, 
(Mathew viii., 29) are we to look for truth and goodness 
in them ? I followed the Bible rule, tried the spirits, and 
found that those with whom I mingled were not of God. 

The question has arisen, are all the spirits who com- 
municate with men, of this evil class ? Let the spirits 
answer this question. That good (saved) persons out of 
the flesh might communicate with those still in the body, 
I believe is not impossible, if the Lord should permit it; 
but I think he seldom does. Mr. Daniels relates the 
following in "Spiritualism not of God :" 

In 1853, Mr. William B. Lanniog, of Trenton, N. J., . . 
. . not baing fully satisfied of the real character of these 
spirits, held the followinii; colloquy with one, through a writing 
medium. The spirit, on being asked if it was right and bene- 
ficial for the human race to consult these spirits, replied, "Yes, 
it will make them happier and better." He then testified in 
substance to the main doctrines of these spirits, and said, 
though an unconverted man, he was happy; that departed 
Christians were among these spirits — all were happy; there 
was to be no resurrection of the dead, no future puoishtnent, 
nor Div of Judgment. But on being cross-examined a little, 
the spirit became very angry and unwilling to answer, 
and begged to depart ; said he would go and get more spirits 
and return. Said my frieod, "No. When you go, I want 



30 SPIRIT POSSESSION. 

you to stay away ; but at present do you answer my questions. 
In the name of the Lord do 1 demand it., ^ The ''happy" 
spirit quailed, and Mr. L. proceeded : Is the Bible true ? 
YeK 

The Bible forbids necromancy and the consulting of familiar 
spirits. Which shall I believe, you or the Bible? The 
Bible. 

Why then did you tell me that it was right and useful to 
consult the spirits ? Because I wanted to deceive you. 

What is the business of these spirits with men ? What do 
you think it is ? 

I think it is to deceive. Very well, you are correct. 

Are you happy ? No, I am miserable. 

Is there a hell ? Yes. 

Are you in hell ? No, not yet. 
, Do you expect to go there ? Yes. 

When ? At the Day of Judgment. 

Is there to be a Day of Judgment ? Yes. 

Is there to be a resurrection of the dead ? Yes. 

Have you any prospect of happiness ? 1 have no hope* 

In the name of the Lord, is there a good spirit — the spirit 
of a departed Christian among all of these rapping and writing 
spirits ? A^o, not one. 

Where are the spirits of departed Christians ? The Lord 

HAS TAKEN THEM. 

Why then did you tell my brother in Philadelphia the con- 
trary ef all this ? Because £ wished to deceive him. 

Could you deceive him ? Yes. 

(The brother was a Spiritualist.) 

Why could you deceive him ? Because he is a fool. 

Why is he a fool ? Becaute he don't believe the Bible 

Can't you deceive me ? No. 

Why ? Because you believe the Bible. 

Will you tell my brother what you have told me ? Yes. 

I want to hear from you no more ; good-bye forever. Spirit 
—Good-bye forever. 

Of those who profess and practice Spiritualism, thousands 
undoubtedly are sincere seekers after truth in forbidden places. 
Deceived and overcome by the spirits, they are content to be 
governed temporally and spiritually by them. The phenom- 
ena of Spiritualism become a source of wonder to them, being 
supernatural, and serve to strengthen their faith in the power 



SPIRIT-POSSESSION. 31 

of the spiritSj and, afterwards, in the truth of spirit-teachings. 
After that, these proselytes are willing to believe almost any- 
thing, if it professes to come from the spirits of departed per- 
sons whom they have loved and respected in this life. Here 
is the infatuation that satisfies the minds and consciences of 
the great mass of Spiritualists — the motive that leads them to 
look no further for religious doctrine, and to despise whatever 
opposes itself to their fixed devotion to the spirits. As the 
Bible ofiers this opposition, it is rejected, and this rejection of 
the word of God is favored, if not directly advocated, by the 
spirits. Hence so few Spiritualists (misled and infatuated, 
but satisfied, not realizing that they are deceived), have no 
desire to break away from the allurements that hold them spell- 
bound. This infatuation of Spiritualism leads bad men and 
women in the flesh to contrive and practice counterfeit spiritua 
phenomena ; and every little while the press teems with "ex 
posures of another spiritual humbug," and the details are 
widely read and denounced by those who are not Spiritualists, 
as well as by those Spiritualists who have not been able to dis- 
tinguish between the true and false phenomena until the coun- 
terfeit was unmistakably exposed. 

At the time when I was absorbed in Spiritualism, I was not 
dependent upon other mediums (being a "high" one myself,) 
nor "circles," nor "seances," or any of the machinery in use 
among real and counterfeit Spiritualists. I associated with 
none of these people, although several paid me brief visits, so 
that I was not influenced by them. I dealt in a private capac- 
ity with the spirits, without requiring the machinery used by 
the genuine or bogus Spiritualists of these days. Therefore, 
whatever Spiritualists may say, I feel that I am a competent 
witness, under God, against the errors and delusions of a mys- 
terious and soul destroying infatuation. Since then 1 have 
opposed Modern Spiritualism for the following reasons : 

First, it is expressly forbidden and denounced in the Bible, 
under the titles of "doctrines of devils," "sorcery," "witch- 
craft," "familiar spirit. " etc., in the following passages: 



iSZ SPIRIT POSSESSION. 



Isaiah, viii., 19, 20 ; Leviticus, xix., 3l ; Leviticus xx., 6, 27 ; 
Deuteronomy, xviii., 10,11 ; 1st Samuel xv., 22; 1st Chron- 
icles, X., 13, i4.; 2d Kings, xxiii., 24 ; 2d Chronicles, xxxiii., 
6,11 ; Isaiah, xlvii., 9, 12 ;2d Thessabnians, ii.. 9,12 : Isaiah 
xix., 3, 4; Galatians, v., 26 ; Revelation, xxi., 8. Secondly, 
because it denies the truth of the Bible, and reviles its teach- 
ings. Thirdly, because it bears the stamp of demonism, while 
endeavoring to pass itself off for something virtuous. Fourthly, 
because it blasphemes the Creator and Ruler of the Universe, 
and denies the existence of apersonal, all ruling God. Fifthly, 
it rejects the divine nature and mediatorial office of Jesus 
Christ, while some of its followers claim to have divine natures 
themselves. Sixthly, it claims a probationary state after 
death, while the Bible expressly denies it. Seventhly, it is a 
delusion and a snare, misleading its devotees into silly and evil 
actions, under the impression that they are doing and talking 
sensibly. Eigthly, it drives hundreds into suicide, murder, 
free-love and insanity. Ninthly, its visible phenomena, 
although better than its teachings, are unsatisfactory and use- 
less. Tenthly, no reliance can be placed upon what the spirite 
say. If they are sometimes truthful, it is to excite the confi- 
dence of those who converse with them and lead to a firmer 
belief in what they pretend to reveal. Lastly (for these reas- 
ons are sufficient for the purpose of this pamphlet), Jesus and 
his apostles drove legions of demons out of the "mediums" of his 
day, and restored them to their senses, (See Luke ix., 37-42.; 
I do not say that all Spiritualists believe exactly alike in 
every one of these dogmas. There have been two distinct par- 
ties of Modern Spiritualists for sometime past — the free-b vers 
and those who were not; and I learn that quite recently 
another branch (stronojly opposed by the others) has declared 
that they "recognize in Jesus of Nazareth the sp* ritual leader 
of men, and accept his two great affirmations of love to God 
and love to man as constituting the one ground of growth in 
the individual, and the only and sufficient basis of human soci- 
ety." But, as I understand them, they still reject the divinity 
and mediatorial office of Jesus, and of course their creed is 
sadly deficient. Still this movement may be the entering 
wedge that shall yet aid in destroying the Spiritualistic Anti- 
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good and to the \w\ni.—R(-Sormed Church Mestenger. 

"A fiehl whidi other works on this subject do not fill."— A'. >, / 

" i^e sure to purclia.se ami study this book."— iNVw York Advocoi' 

•*It should be a con.-<tant comjmnion of the dictionaiy. The fu.i i - 

than two years 'n the preparation of this work and has c nsulfed oni- Um 
fifiyof the best authors, collecting an amount of information which :v 
realize without a perusal of the work. It is sure to be purchased bv uli v 
it."— TAe Methodist. 

This is one of the l^est selling books in the market. It is sousti 
agents find that they can make more money with it than with a iii^'ii ]<. 
Its o oasional study is a great reminder and corrector of uiistukes in mm 
wrltinjr, and leads us »o n.otice them in others and avoid them oinsclves. A Vi 
sen'ation <if t by an agent, who will gi- e it a careful examinaMou. will I 
make almost any person feel that for !*!.00 they cannot afford lo do without ■ 
AG£^TS wanted everywhere on very liberal c<»iuiuissions. 




OFPRAYEK A!«I> I.E.iTES FKO:iI IHK 

TREE OF LIFE. 

By Matthew Hale Smith. 

The illustrations are from real life, and it is indeed a Marvelon^t i; 
day of l)ol<l and dfliant denial of Prayer hy pnuniiient men and Scic 
recited in th^s book stand up as a cloud of witnesses for God. The in- 
make the reader familiar with God K dialings in ansivt-r to prayer . 

trust and l)elieve, so that tlie child of God may be strengtlieiied n tin- rn 
iln' L<'avcs fr' n» the Tree of Life are a selection of three bundrf d sulijcct^ 
God lias spnkfn tty the Holy <>hosf. i.'onv' nieiilly suittd to th' (liunh, t!i. ; 
the Prayer- Meeting, the iloset and the Sunday -iSchool: a book u is >)'^lipvi(l that 
no Cliristian would be willing to be without. It is a crown ottavo of uvtr 00*1 op. 
Price, Extra Cloth INctn. ..1 1,, .4'J ihj 

^ Leather Library 

• iOTAoENTs WAITED OU good commf}*8ioii. 



LIFE 



OF TRl^ST. llj Oeorge lUitllor. With »ii In- 
troduction by Francis Waylanp. Brought down '■ .. i 

time, including his triple this country, by tlie Rev. i. , .< 

AN ENTIRELY NEW EDITION. PRICE REDUCED TO 81.50 

This book fiives a full and graphic account of onet^f the jrvt.Ttrst rcliui ■u'. w ^rks of 
the nineteenth century. Mr.'Mullcr, alone and uiiitid«-d, ^l;' > ' '• • 1 t r- 

phans" in England. Looking only to (^od for hcl]) and nt ; 

aid, he has supported 5 100 orphans, and given them a rt-li-i ii . 

receivwl without se king it, over two and a hall millions of dollars t 
in<! out this irrfut work. ' i 

'r, i .- 1 ^ . l\ •] V.-!f'r, over $t.')0,000, for the pnrp'^se of jr'i;t = n:' ■ 
ii in entirely sejiarate dejiartnieni • 

1). I ; ; ]n!~-<i<>nar es in home and foreign luir. , 



i-m. li'- U;i5 
lid iu ctiwv- 



of 0\' 

Ev('i 
orial f) 



III man and woman* should read and rtudy this book. It is the mcm- 
,. Cliristian life, strong ill t^:iilli ami works. It is of si)e< ial iutfu-t lo 

the largf null) I'cr of laymen in this c ; ' 

work. Sent postpaid on receipt of prii 



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BAKER & ARNOLD, Sycamore. 111. 



